1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to animal traps, and in particular, to a live catch animal trap having the ability to catch multiple animals without requiring human intervention to reset the trap.
2. Description of the Related Art
Animal traps are used to catch animals for a variety of reasons. For example, nuisance animals, such as stray cats, can be caught in traps and relocated or euthanized. For another example, fur bearing animals, such as racoons, possums, and other varmits, can be caught in traps and harvested for their pelts. Live catch traps are commonly used for trapping animals, particularly in areas where non-targeted animals might be caught, or when the targeted animals need to be kept alive.
Live catch traps typically include a cage for holding the trapped animal, and a trigger mechanism designed to be tripped by an animal to cause a door to close behind the animal after it enters the cage. The most common live catch animal traps available on the market for trapping large varmits, such as racoons and possums, are made to catch only one animal at a time. The trapped animal must then be removed and the trap reset before another animal can be caught with the trap.
Automatically resetting rodent traps are known in the prior art. Such traps typically included a trap door located on top of a cage, and a trigger mechanism that automatically reset itself after each rodent was dropped into the cage. For example, such traps are disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,763,092 issued to Sheridan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,733,541 issued to McKim, U.S. Pat. No. 2,163,577 issued to Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 1,856,980 issued to Weaver, U.S. Pat. No. 1,810,608 issued to Jacobs, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,798,717 issued to Baranski.
There is a need for an improved animal trap having the ability to catch multiple animals without requiring human intervention to reset the trap.